Why walk when you can ride?

One of my goals for this summer is to use my bike more often. Back in the day I biked everywhere, and didn’t own a car. It’s a way to get more exercise, save money, and go easier on the environment. And it’s fun!

However, my bike needed some work before it was ready for the road again. Tires are flat, chain fell off, handle grips askew, not shifting right…it’s a bit of a mess.

After looking up a couple different bike shops to get a tune up, I “very intelligently” decided that I could probably just do it all myself. I can just pop some new tubes in, get the chain back on, and ignore the rest. I don’t really need all my gears, right? I used to fix my bike all the time, how hard could it be? Why spend the time and money taking it to a shop when Youtube is right here?

So today I finally got around to putting new tubes in for my tires. Pretty straightforward process, right? To my surprise, I managed not to mess it up and get it done pretty quickly, or so I thought. I got them all pumped up, took it for a test run around the block, then decided to go for a ride to Como Park, about 3.5 miles away. It’s a beautiful 65 degree sunny day!

Long story short, I definitely messed it up. A mile down the road, I realized my rear tire was once again going flat. I stopped, pumped it up, and kept going. Only 1/4 mile later, flat again…so I turned around and headed back.

Eventually it went flat so often that I gave up and just walked my bike all the way back. I couldn’t make it a whole block without having to stop and pump it up again.

The moral of the story?

I was too proud & stingy to let a professional get my bike issues sorted out, so instead of enjoying a beautiful ride, I instead was faced with a frustrating, slow ride that ended up being mostly walking. I plodded along on the sidewalk, trying to ignore the other cyclists zooming by me with a smile on their face.

Instead of covering lots of ground, enjoying the sun and the view…I barely made it out of my neighborhood before having to go backwards. Head down, annoyed, wishing I’d just done the tune up two weeks ago like I originally planned.

Riding the bike would still be hard work, but I would have gotten to my destination far faster (instead of not reaching it at all), and had a lot more fun in the process.

Yes, you can reach your destination by walking instead of biking or driving…but it’s going to take a lot longer, and you might even end up quitting or going backwards, when the journey feels impossible.

Yes, you can work on your bike yourself. But unless you’re experienced and know what you’re doing, you might end up spending more time worrying about how to fit the pieces together, than actually enjoying the journey and getting results. Sometimes Youtube tutorials just don’t cut it. They can’t tell you how to fix it when something goes wrong.

I’ve met a lot of people who make the same mistake with their fitness. Yes, it is possible to do it on your own. Anybody can Google a cookie-cutter workout plan. But with professional help, you’ll reach your goals infinitely faster, and have a lot more fun doing it knowing that you don’t have to sweat all the details.

I’d rather choose to put my fitness in the hands of a fitness professional who knows exactly how to fit all the pieces together to get the most out of my time, energy, and money I invest. Even if the wheels DO fall off…you’ll have someone there to tell you WHY it happened, and how to fix it next time. No wasted time, no wondering if you’re picking the right exercises, weights, foods…just following the plan.

If you’re not where you want to be with your health & fitness, and you want some help…we’re here for you. Book a Free No-Sweat Intro session today, to talk to Coach Chris about where you’re trying to go, and how we can help you get there faster!

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